Electrostatic printers are known in which a toner image is fused or fixed to a substrate to form a final document. The fusing can occur after transfer of the toner image to the substrate, or generally simultaneously with the fusing in a transfuse process. In either arrangement the substrate is fed into a fusing nip where a combination of fusing members such as fusing or transfuse belts and rollers apply heat and pressure to the toner image and substrate to fix or fuse the toner image to the substrate. Toner particles from the toner image can adhere to the fusing member. These toner particles can transfer from the fusing member to subsequent substrates resulting in print defects. In addition, build ups of toner particles on the fusing member can degrade the quality of fusing of the toner image on subsequent documents.
Therefore it is preferred to clean the fusing members to remove toner particles and other debris such as dirt and fiber that effect final print quality.
One prior cleaner employed a cleaning roller engaging the surface of a fuser roll to remove toner particles. Toner particles preferentially adhered to the roller. However, as excess toner particles accumulate on the cleaning roller, the surface can become uneven, resulting in uneven cleaning of the fuser roll. The toner layer on the cleaning roller can become excessively thick, requiring maintenance to remove the excess toner of the toner layer.
In one alternative assembly, the cleaning roller is formed of a hollow cylinder and apertures are provided in the cylinder to permit excess toner to be driven inward through the openings. Excess toner therefore is collected on the inside of the cylinder, extending the period between servicing. However, the openings can result in gaps in the cleaning surface of the roller, requiring multiple cycles of the fusing roller to clean the entire surface of the fusing roller. Therefore toner particles on the fusing member can continue to disrupt fusing, or be transferred to the substrate, before their removal.